Jonny Gomes, 56, stood in a 50-person-long line at Cafe Diplomatico, upset with himself that he didn’t arrive earlier. He believes Portugal will rebound from a poor showing at the 2014 World Cup where they failed to advance past the group stage.

“We can’t lose!” he yelled, prompting high fives from other supporters as horns blared from passing cars adorned with Portuguese flags.

Cafe Diplomatico has taken over a street next to the 50-year-old restaurant, with a large tent capable of accommodating another 250 patrons who can watch the game on a large screen.

Carla Rubino, 32, was a begrudging Portugal fan in the crowd. She has Italian roots, but was without a team to cheer for after Italy failed to qualify for the event.

Yet she came out to Cafe Diplomatico, which sits in the heart of Toronto’s Little Italy, to hang out with some of her Portuguese friends.

“Go Portugal,” she said with mock enthusiasm. “I hope I’m not cheering for another loser!”

In Montreal’s Little Italy, a banner strung across Saint-Laurent street read “Go everyone but Sweden,” — a bitter reminder of the qualifying loss that kept Italy out of the World Cup for the first time in 60 years.